Teach for America

Teach For America was launched in 1990 by Wendy Kopp and "is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity."

Lapses in recordkeeping
By 2008, the group had 5,000 teachers-in-training and a $75 million budget, with one third of it coming from U.S. taxpayers through local school districts, state and the federal government. The group failed to account for half of that money, however. A CBS News report found that TFA had no basic records or receipts, even for a $123,878 training expense or a $342,428 bill. A government audit showed TFA failed to keep any records on expenditures of a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars apparently spent on food and lodging ($277,262) and $26,812 for teacher certification. Auditors found no documentation that any teachers actually attended and completed the class, or that there even was a class at all. TFA vice president Kevin Huffman attributed the audit's unsatisfactory findings to poor record keeping. He later supplied more documentation regarding the expenses, but those documents contained discrepancies that made the matter worse. Taxpayer advocates expressed astonishment that TFA had become such a large organization with such faulty bookkeeping practices.

Charges of pushing out older, more experienced teachers
Critics say that TFA's growth in many cities comes at the expense of pushing more experienced teachers out of their jobs — in some cases, they say, to make room for TFA, which brings teachers in at beginners' salary levels and underwrites their training. In Boston, TFA corps members replaced 20 teachers who had been fired, according Boston Teachers Union President Richard Stutman, who said, "These are people who have been trained, who are experienced and who have good evaluations, and are being replaced by brand-new employees." Stutman reported that he had met with about 18 other local union presidents, all of whom said they'd seen teachers laid off to make room for TFA members. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., schools Superintendent Peter Gorman told board members he had laid off hundreds of teachers but spared 100 TFAers because the district "made a commitment to this program." In May, 2009, Last May, 2009 John Wilson, executive director of the National Education Association, the USA's largest teachers union, sent a memo saying union leaders were "beginning to see school systems lay off teachers and then hire TFA college grads due to a contract they signed."

Conflicts with Unions and charges of union-busting
The Boston Teachers Union filed a complaint against TFA in 2009 charging that TFA's contract gave specific advantages to TFA corps members above and beyond those afforded teachers who belonged to the Union. The Boston School superintendent agreed, announced that the district never intended any preferential treatment, and said the TFA contract would be adjusted. TFA agreed to make the changes.

Concerns have been raised that TFA is being used to bust unions. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, for example, thousands of teachers were fired (not merely laid off) and replaced with Teach for America corps members, who worked for less money.

Funders
TFA publishes a list of its funders on its web site. Among TFA's largest funders (in the $10 million group) are the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation (Wal-Mart). Other high-dollar funders include the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Doris & Donald Fisher Fund and Rainwater Charitable Funds and Martha and Bruce Karsh.

Corporate funders giving between $1 million and $5 million:

 * Amgen Foundation
 * Bain & Company
 * Carnegie Corporation of New York
 * Cisco
 * Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
 * Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (Michael Dell is the former CEO of the Dell computer company)
 * Doris & Donald Fisher Fund (Doris and Donald Fisher are the founders of GAP clothing company)
 * Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft)
 * Glenview Capital
 * Helios Education Foundation
 * The Lenfest Foundation
 * The Lincy Foundation
 * The Medtronic Foundation
 * The Neuberger Berman Foundation
 * Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
 * C.D. Spangler Foundation, Inc.
 * State Farm
 * Visa Inc.
 * Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company

Other corporate funders include (partial list):
 * FedEx
 * Gap, Inc.
 * The Coca Cola Foundation
 * Hogan & Hartson
 * Goldman Sachs Gives
 * Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation

Directors

 * Stephen Bollenbach - Co-Chairman & CEO, Hilton Hotels Corporation
 * Donald Fisher - Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Gap Inc.
 * Lew Frankfort - Chairman & CEO, Coach Inc.
 * David Gergen - Professor of Public Service, Director of the Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University
 * Leo J. Hindery, Jr. - Managing Partner, InterMedia Partners
 * Walter Isaacson (Chair) - President & CEO, The Aspen Institute
 * David Kenny - CEO, Digitas
 * Wendy Kopp - Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Teach For America
 * Sherry Lansing - CEO, The Sherry Lansing Foundation
 * Sue Lehmann - Management Consultant
 * Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D. - President & CEO, United Negro College Fund
 * Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. - Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Lone Pine Capital LLC
 * Anthony W. Marx - President, Amherst College
 * James M. McCormick - Founder, CEO & President, First Manhattan Consulting Group
 * Richard Pechter - Alumnus, Teach For America, Retired Chairman, DLJ Financial Services
 * Nancy Peretsman - Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Allen & Company, LLC
 * Joel Smilow - Chairman, Dynex Group LLC
 * Paula A. Sneed (Vice Chair) - Executive Vice President (retired), Kraft Foods, Inc.
 * Howard Stringer - Chairman & CEO, Sony Corporation
 * Larry Stupski - Chairman, Stupski Foundation
 * Lawrence H. Summers - Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University
 * G. Kennedy Thompson - Chairman, President & CEO, Wachovia Corporation
 * John Thompson - Chairman, CEO, Symantec Corporation
 * Greg Wendt - Senior Vice President, Capital Research Company
 * Jide Zeitlin (Treasurer) - Retired Partner, Goldman, Sachs & Co.

TFA also gets funding from the U.S. government through AmeriCorps.

Criticism
TFA has been criticized, and praised by some, for increasing the supply of young, enthusiastic, non-unionized teachers working in school systems across the U.S. Teach For America also has started supplying teachers to charter schools, which don't allow teaches to unionize.

Contact
315 West 36th Street 7th Floor New York, NY 10018 Phone: 212-279-2080 Fax: 212-279-2081 Web: http://www.teachforamerica.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Andrea Batista Schlesinger
 * Wendy Puriefoy - former board member
 * Kim Smith - cofounder
 * Mary Garton